Justice
by Pumpernickel
Summary: When Garrus gets a lead on the man who betrayed him, will he finally be able to avenge his fallen team? One-shot.


A short little piece to get back into writing after a couple month hiatus._  
Disclaimer: Bioware owns me, not the other way around._

* * *

Hate is a hard burden to bear. It wears you down, mind and soul, until eventually it consumes you entirely. Until you can't feel anything else.

It hadn't taken me yet, and I was not going to give it the chance to. I would feed it the blood of Sidonis, the traitor, the murderer. When justice was served, the hate would be satisfied, and I could move on. I needed to move on.

I still dreamed about them, about the team I failed. Their faces twisted in pain, unseeing eyes left open. They were always open in the dreams. Dead, glazed eyes staring at me. Accusing me. Blaming me.

I would do anything to make those eyes go away.

--o--

She was watching me. I didn't look at her, but I could feel her gaze searching my face. I tried to keep my expression carefully neutral, but by the way the corners of her mouth were turned down in worry, I guess I'd failed. She'd been watching me the entire ride here, occasionally opening her mouth as if to speak, only to close it a moment later. Part of me wondered what she wanted to say, but most of me was just glad she chose not to say it. I didn't want her trying to talk me out of going through with this.

I knew she didn't approve of going after Sidonis, even though she brought me here. She was a better person than me. I needed him to die, and I couldn't stand knowing that I was going to disappoint her by killing him. I couldn't bear the disappointment in her eyes.

So I didn't look at her, and we rode in silence to the meeting spot.

--o--

"Garrus…" she began, barely louder than a whisper. I closed my eyes, hand pausing on the door handle. I'd anticipated her objections, but I hadn't been prepared for her voice to sound that way. My name fell from her lips like a lover's first kiss – soft, tentative, uncertain. It sent a jolt up my spine, demanded that I stop and listen.

"I'm worried about you. You're turning into a stranger right before my eyes, and I don't like it. This…this isn't you."

"It's been a long two years Shepard. People change," I said, opening the door and stepping out. She followed, quickly circling the car to walk by my side. So much for the plan to have her distract Sidonis while I took the shot. It didn't matter. I'd get the shot off whether he was distracted or not.

She shook her head. "Not like this. You've been on my ship six weeks and have never been like this," she said, scrambling to keep pace without breaking into a jog. I was normally more considerate of her shorter stride, but I couldn't bring myself to slow down now. Not when I was so close to my goal.

"Like what?"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. I spun around and looked her, suddenly annoyed with her interference. If I missed my chance, if he slipped through my fingers again…

"Like _this!_" she exclaimed, waving a hand in front of me as if the answer was written on my face. "This single-minded coldness, this ruthlessness. You're _glaring_ at me for stalling you!"

I _was_ glaring at her, I realized. I shook my head and turned away. I'd apologize later, but for now I was running out of time. If someone didn't meet Sidonis soon, he'd get too nervous and run like the coward he was.

"What are you hoping to solve by doing this? Killing him isn't going to bring your team back," she said as I walked away.

"It's justice," I growled back, surprised by the tone of my own voice. She was right, it did sound cold. I walked faster. I needed this to be over, now.

"It's not justice, it's revenge!" she called from behind me.

Justice, vengeance, it didn't matter what she called it as long as it ended with Sidonis dead. An eye for an eye. I only wished I could kill him more than once.

I found a nice spot overlooking the meeting place, far enough that I'd have a chance to get away if there happened to be any C-Sec around to hear the shot. I'd been planning on using Shepard's immunity as a Spectre to get away with murder, literally, but I had a feeling she wouldn't be extending the offer this time. I was on my own.

She caught up to me as I was getting into position. Prone, for this one. I was an excellent shot standing, even better kneeling, but I never missed when I was prone. Ever. She laid down beside me, so close in the tight space that I could smell the cleaner she used on her hair – mint, and another spice I couldn't name.

"You're better than this," she said.

There it was, the disappointment. I'd known it was coming, but it hurt more than I'd anticipated, like a knife to the gut. The most respectable person in the galaxy believed in me, and I was letting her down. It was unforgivable, but I didn't have a choice.

I stared down my scope, scanning the crowds for my target. I had to get out of here. "We can't all be as good as you," I mumbled, more to myself than to her.

Who was I kidding, thinking I could be half the person she was? Hell, I couldn't even take out one merc leader on my own…then she shows up and all three are dead within minutes. All I ever managed to accomplish without her was getting my team killed.

"You're just as good as me – but you're letting your anger get the best of you."

There. Sitting on a bench, head down, was my mark. My world narrowed down to the vision of him in my crosshairs. Shepard was gone, the busy terminal was gone…all that remained was me, Sidonis, and the rifle aimed at his head.

My hands began to shake with the overwhelming fury of seeing him again, and I took a deep breath against the waves of emotion slamming through my chest. I had to calm down or I would misfire. I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on the steady beat of my heart, the slow draw of air through my lungs, gradually relaxing each muscle in turn.

The sound of a rifle extending ripped me back into reality. I glanced at Shepard, blinking in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving you from yourself," she replied, quickly scanning the area through her own scope. I stared at her dumbly until her aim steadied, and I realized what she meant to do.

"This is my kill," I said furiously, grabbing her arm and yanking her back.

"_Your_ kill?" she snapped back, shooting me a look that would bring lesser men to their knees. "Look at yourself!" She shrugged off my hand and pushed me, hard. Like I was some kind of assailant. An enemy.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off. "First you shoot Harkin, and now you're going to murder this guy in cold blood? What's next, Garrus, are you going to take a shot at _me_ if I do something you don't like?"

"What? Shepard, I would never…"

"No? Well two years ago you would never have dreamed you'd be doing this either." She shook her head, and her voice lost the harsh edge. "Look, Sidonis deserves to die for what he did. But if you pull that trigger now, you'll be doing it for the wrong reasons – and you'll be a different man afterwards."

Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons…wasn't that still right? Would being a different man really be so bad? When everything is firmly in the gray area, how was I supposed to know what to do?

"Trust me," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I could barely feel her touch through my armor, but the light pressure centered me, helped clear my head. I trusted Shepard with my life – did I trust her with this?

Her eyes were soft again, concerned…but there was something else there too. Faith. She could have ended this at any time, but she waited for me to make the decision. Even now, after everything, she still believed that I would do the right thing.

I would never be able to live with myself if I disappointed this woman now.

"Take the shot," I sighed, collapsing my rifle. She beamed at me before turning to her scope once more. I got up and started walking back to the cab. I didn't need to watch. It was just Shepard killing another criminal - justice, not revenge.


End file.
